Story-Tuning with God and Another – Initial Phases

by | Jun 16, 2023 | Religious studies

 

Your Pastor overheard your conversation with a friend about assessments taken in the process of “Story-Tuning” your life. Intrigued by the topic, he wants to understand more about concepts and codes mentioned below.
We are story-keepers in constant need of story-tuning! “Story-Tuning” is a symphonic process of being and becoming like Christ in a specific relationship. That process, governed by a “GPS” (Guiding Purpose Statement) grounded in a core “GP”(Guide Post), assists in “GM” (Gap Management). Story-tuning draws upon Christ’s preeminent resources and closes the gap between “the me that you are now” and “the me God wants you to be in the near future”. A Story-Keeper utilizes a practical action plan and ongoing meaningful support to become the “Me” God wants him/her to be.
A time for a follow-up conversation is scheduled and now you are digging deep into PACO 825, a course completed in your DMin. cognate. Now that you are a Doctor, the Pastor has hinted at the possibility of you leading the next staff retreat. The theme for this two-session retreat might be something like – “Story-tuning My Life within a Specific Relationship”. Your task in the first session is to explain how to move through the first two phases of the story-tuning process.
Consider this forum to be something like the first two parts of a final project paper. Dig deep into the course and make these two phases rich with nuggets (i.e., good finds). In a thoughtful development of these initial phases, noticeably and meaningfully employ at least 1 insight from each of the course readings-to-date along with insights from the DISC, Emotional Intelligence, and Adjective Checklist assessments, and, as necessary, previous learning activities. Be attentive to your Guiding Purpose Statement’s primary and functional purpose in the story-tuning process.
The Me I See NOW (i.e., describe the present story)
Use the symphonic narrative to describe the influences shaping the “Me you see in a specific relationship.
Note areas of flourishing and languishing, strengths/competencies, shortcomings/blindspots, helpful/harmful patterns/practices, etc.
NOTE: this is not a fixing session…just be descriptive against the backdrop of God’s grace.
The Me I Want to Be SOON (i.e., develop a picture of the preferred story)
Do not fix-just picture your life under the influence of Christ’s preeminent resources and your Guiding Purpose Statement.
Integrate insights from the readings and assessments.
What does a more flourishing symphonic narrative look like 60 days out in that relationship?

 

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Dante Alighieri played a critical role in the literature world through his poem Divine Comedy that was written in the 14th century. The poem contains Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Inferno is a description of the nine circles of torment that are found on the earth. It depicts the realms of the people that have gone against the spiritual values and who, instead, have chosen bestial appetite, violence, or fraud and malice. The nine circles of hell are limbo, lust, gluttony, greed and wrath. Others are heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Dante’s Inferno in the perspective of its portrayal of God’s image and the justification of hell. 

In this epic poem, God is portrayed as a super being guilty of multiple weaknesses including being egotistic, unjust, and hypocritical. Dante, in this poem, depicts God as being more human than divine by challenging God’s omnipotence. Additionally, the manner in which Dante describes Hell is in full contradiction to the morals of God as written in the Bible. When god arranges Hell to flatter Himself, He commits egotism, a sin that is common among human beings (Cheney, 2016). The weakness is depicted in Limbo and on the Gate of Hell where, for instance, God sends those who do not worship Him to Hell. This implies that failure to worship Him is a sin.


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God is also depicted as lacking justice in His actions thus removing the godly image. The injustice is portrayed by the manner in which the sodomites and opportunists are treated. The opportunists are subjected to banner chasing in their lives after death followed by being stung by insects and maggots. They are known to having done neither good nor bad during their lifetimes and, therefore, justice could have demanded that they be granted a neutral punishment having lived a neutral life. The sodomites are also punished unfairly by God when Brunetto Lattini is condemned to hell despite being a good leader (Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). While he commited sodomy, God chooses to ignore all the other good deeds that Brunetto did.

Finally, God is also portrayed as being hypocritical in His actions, a sin that further diminishes His godliness and makes Him more human. A case in point is when God condemns the sin of egotism and goes ahead to commit it repeatedly. Proverbs 29:23 states that “arrogance will bring your downfall, but if you are humble, you will be respected.” When Slattery condemns Dante’s human state as being weak, doubtful, and limited, he is proving God’s hypocrisy because He is also human (Verdicchio, 2015). The actions of God in Hell as portrayed by Dante are inconsistent with the Biblical literature. Both Dante and God are prone to making mistakes, something common among human beings thus making God more human.

To wrap it up, Dante portrays God is more human since He commits the same sins that humans commit: egotism, hypocrisy, and injustice. Hell is justified as being a destination for victims of the mistakes committed by God. The Hell is presented as being a totally different place as compared to what is written about it in the Bible. As a result, reading through the text gives an image of God who is prone to the very mistakes common to humans thus ripping Him off His lofty status of divine and, instead, making Him a mere human. Whether or not Dante did it intentionally is subject to debate but one thing is clear in the poem: the misconstrued notion of God is revealed to future generations.

 

References

Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). Dante’s inferno: Seven deadly sins in scientific publishing and how to avoid them. Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed, 267.

Cheney, L. D. G. (2016). Illustrations for Dante’s Inferno: A Comparative Study of Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Stradano, and Federico Zuccaro. Cultural and Religious Studies, 4(8), 487.

Verdicchio, M. (2015). Irony and Desire in Dante’s” Inferno” 27. Italica, 285-297.

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